been able to detect. The border guards cannot stop them, indeed, they have only recently caught sight of them at a distance. They are some kind of magic-made creatures from past the Tale'edras lands, and they have entered from the northern side of the Plains, where the Plains meet the territory of the Tale'edras Clan k'sheyna.'
'The Falcons?' Tre'valen said, curiously. 'I do not know them.
'I know a little, but not a great deal,' Kra'heera admitted. 'I know this much of the enemy: the things that have been looking about have an incredible ability to vanish and have never been seen clearly. They have been sniffing out magic, I think, and when they find it, I think they will call that which created them.'
'They could find many things,' Tre'valen said grimly.
'And worst case, they could find the remains of the stronghold of Mage Urtho.' Kra'heera nodded agreement. 'I do not know if it would be possible for an attack to be mounted against the center of the Plains-but I do not know that it would not be possible.'
'What of k'sheyna?' Tre'valen asked anxiously. 'Are the Hawkbrothers not pledged to help us when dangers come from out of their lands?'
'Yes, but k'sheyna, from the little I know, is a Clan with troubles of its own,' Kra'heera responded, after a moment to gather his thoughts.
'I do not think they are capable of repulsing a single Adept just now, and if these creatures are the servants of not one, but an alliance of Adepts-well, I do not think there is much hope of aid from them.' Tre'valen grimaced. 'So. What is it we need do?' Kra'heera mentally congratulated his apprentice; the youngster had cut to the heart of the matter, without wasting time on things that might or might not be.
'We need to bring together the shaman of two Clans, at least. Then, we must invoke the Kal'enedral-the leshyae-Kal'enedral, as well as what physical Swordsworn we can muster.'
'The spirits?' Tre'valen said in surprise. 'We can invoke the spirit Swordsworn?'
'If needs must, yes, we can,' Kra'heera told him. 'It must be done through the living Swordsworn, but it is not done lightly. I think, however, we have little choice at this moment. The spirits bring with them some of Her power, Her magic, and with these, I think we can withstand these intruders. But to accomplish all this, there is one thing more we must have.'
'Time,' Tre'valen responded promptly.
'Time,' Kra'heera agreed. 'And to gain time, we need a distraction for these things.'
'Hmm.' Tre'valen's face grew thoughtful, and Kra'heera felt a lifting of his heart. He had not been mistaken in this young man. Tre'valen did not simply wait to do what he was told-he looked for answers.
'The young woman that Dira spoke of-' Tre'valen said, slowly.
'Just what is she? Why would she seek us?' Kra'heera wondered for a moment why Tre'valen's mind had turned to the strangers, but the younger man was Gifted with the ability to sift through bits of information and extract unusual solutions. So here, in this safest of all places, the elder let his own mind range for a moment, asking for a vision that would sum up what these strangers were.
In a moment, he had that vision; the young woman and her friendwith white uniforms, and leshyae horses.
They were Heralds of Valdemar. He had no trouble recognizing the uniform; his cousin Kerowyn had one- though she seldom wore it willingly.
Only one Herald had ever entered the Plains-the great and good friend of Tarma shena Tale'sedrin, long before Kra'heera had ever been born. Herald Roald was something of a minor legend among Tale'sedrin, with his spirit-horse, and his undeniable charm. Other Clans' children envied Tale'sedrin, who had hosted the verkal'enedral, the 'White Swordsworn,' who brought them presents and took them for rides on his beautiful spirit-horse. Kra'heera's father had been one of those so honored, and for years thereafter he had told the children and grandchildren his tales, of the wind-swift horse that had the understanding of a man.
'They are Heralds, from the Queen in Valdemar,' he told his apprentice. 'I do not know what brings them, but since our cousin Kerowyn is also one of them, I think that everything Dira told us could be true.'
'Hmm.' Tre'valen nodded thoughtfully. 'That must be tested, of course. As they must be tested.'
' But not by us.' Kra'heera reminded him. 'She must test and mark them. But-what were you thinking?'
'That they might prove worthy allies, perhaps enough to help us with these intruders.' Tre'valen blinked, owlishly, in the moonlight. 'Did you have any other thoughts?' I'Yes,' Kra'heera responded, smiling slowly. 'I have in mind that they might become our distraction. They have to be tested in any case; why not make their testing a matter of seeing how they respond to these intruders?' Tre'valen frowned, which surprised his teacher. 'Is this fair?' he demanded. 'They do not know what it is they will encounter, nor do they know the Plains. We know the girl carries a magic thing, the spiritsword. If these hunters are seeking out magic, will they not sniff it out? And what
